Method and means for welding pipes and the like



Sept. 14, 1948. E. DUTCH 2,449,371

METHOD AND MEANS FOR WELDING PIPES AND THE LIKE Filed July '20, 1945 2Sheets-Sheet 1 EMERY DUTCH,

iNVENTOR- M BY; /MW%%W Ans ATTORNEY.

E. DUTCH Sept. 14, 1948.

METHOD AND MEANS FOR WELDING PIPES AND THE LIKE Filed July 20, 1945 2Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG2 EMERY DUTCH HIS ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 14, 1948METH OD AND MEANS FOR WELDING PIPES AND THE LIKE Emery Dutch, New York,N. Y.

Application July 20, 1945, Serial No. 606,191

Claims. (Cl. 113-111) This invention broadly has for its purpose toprovide protecting means tor -the inside of the wall of a hollow bodywith an opening therein, when operations are performed on or around saidopening on the outside of the body.

Particularly this invention relates to welding operations on adiacentlyset, but spaced apart ends of pipes, 50 as to keep the inside of thepipes at the welded portions smooth.

With the methods now in use, when two pipes are welded together at theirends, a good portion of the welding material will protrude into theinside of the pipe, will cause a pronounced large welding burr thereon,indeed, will cause large protruding portions on the inside wall 01 thepipe, and not only makes the inside surface of the pipe rough at suchplaces, but will also restrict the diameter of the pipe at such places,whereby the speed of the fluid passing through the pipe line may begreatly diminished, the efficiency lowered, and disturbances, eddies,and other troubles and irregularities caused in the flowing of the fluidas against a desired smoothly running stream thereof.

My invention mainly aims to temporarily protect the inside of a hollowbody around an opening in its wall, on which opening some operations areperformed, and particularly to protect and keep smooth the inside or twopipes to be welded together, and to keep the inside of the walls smooth,and the diameter of the pipe unimpaired.

Further objects of my invention will be apparent as the specification ofthe same proceeds, and, among others, I may mention: to provide a methodof this character which will be simple and effective, and which may bepracticed without any preparation right on the Job, and to provide meansfor practicing this method, which means will be simple in construction,easy to apply, and comparatively inexpensive to manufacture.

With the above indicated and other objects in view, and describing it inconnection with two pipes, the ends of which are to be welded to oneanother, my invention mainly consists in providing a specific tool whichis composed of two pivoted elements forming a scissor-like structure,having handle portions projecting in one direction from the pivot, andoperating leg portions projecting to the other direction from the pivot,providing an inwardly and outwardly slidable and also rotatable rod onatransversely bent end of one operating leg, and, pivotally at the lowerend oi the rod, suspending a curved plate segment 01' the same contouras the inside 01' the pipe, said contoured plate being adapted to covera desired portion or the opening or slot between the pipes. andproviding a specific thin formation for the second leg 0! the toolwhereby the same will be adapted to be inserted into the inside of theP19 through said slot.

When it is desired to fill in a portion oi said slot through weldingmaterial, first, the plate will be turned edgewise and dropped into theinside of the pipes through said slot between them, whereupon a pressurewill be exerted on the handle portions of the tool, thereby opemng theworking legs thereof, and inserting the second thin, specifically curvedleg into the inside of the pipe through said slot, the position andthickness thereof being such that it will avoid the plate when in saidedgewise position. then resting said first leg with its transverse endover the outside of the pipes across said slot, pressing the handlesfurther back, and opening the second leg within the pipe to a furtherextent, turning the plate segment transversely across said slot and theend of said second leg, and then permitting a spring action between thehandles of the tool to press them apart, whereupon said first workingleg will be pressed on the outside of the pipes across said slot, andsaid second leg will cause said pivoted plate segment to be pressedagainst a portion of the slot between the pipes, bridging the same fromthe inside.

The tool is now automatically locked in this position, and the weldingoperation may be done along that portion of the slot protected by thecurved plate, whereupon the tool may be slightly opened and moved to anew position along the slot, its handles then, again, will be permittedto snap apart, locking the plate from the inside against the nextportion of the slot, welding that portion and continuing this operationaround the slot until all or it is filled, with the exception of a smallfinishing portion, through which, by appropriate manoeuvres, said curvedplate and said second leg of the tool may be removed.

It will be an easy matter then to fill that small, last remainingaperture, and even it the welding material will at that part projectbetween the pipes, it certainly will not affect the smoothness anddiameter at the welded portion to any no-- ticeable degree.

The same method may be used in appropriate cases for protecting openingsin hollow bodies, as will be obvious.

In the drawings forming a part of this specification and accompanyingthe same:

Fig. 1 is an end view of a pipe to be welded as indicated, showing theoperative position oi my tool while the welding is being performed:

Fig. 2 is a side view oi the ends oi two pipes to be welded together,diagrammatically indicating the position oi my novel tool at the startoi the operation;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view oi the two pipes indicating mytool and the protecting plate segment in position while the welding isbeing done; the section being taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an end view similar to Fig. i. showing the plate in edgewiseposition, the working legs fully open;

Fig. 5 is another end view showing a iurther step in the operation.wherein the curved plate was turned transversely to the slot between thepipes, and the second leg of the tool is fully open and engages thecurved plate;

Fig. 6 is still another end view showing, in iull lines, the tool inoperative position, wherein a spring arranged between the handlesthereof was permitted to open said handles and to close the firstworking leg on the outside oi the pipes, and move and lock the curvedplate into protecting position by the second working leg, a dottedshowing of the tool indicating an earlier position thereof, while Fig. 7is a iragmentary cross sectional view of a pipe on which the weldingoperation has been finished, a small intact portion or aperture beingleft through which the curved plate and the sec- 0nd operating leg ofthe scissor tool may be withdrawn from the inside oi the pipe.

Referring now to the drawings more in detail by characters oi reference.the numeral l0 indicates my tool, in general, and the various figuresshowing the same as applied to a welding operation designed to Join apipe II to a co-axial registering pipe ii, the ends oi which are placedclose, but spaced apart, to one another, a space II being left betweenthem and the ends of the pipes preferably being bevelled as at It. forfilling the space between the two pipes with molten metal by a weldingoperation, as it is well known in the art.

My tool III has two main elements or members I! and I, which are joinedby a pivot II, whereby the two members II and I6 term a scissor-likestructure. The branches lid and Ila oi the members I! and It, in thedrawings pointing to the right from the pivot II, are iormed into grips.having the handle portions II and I! respectiveiy, while the branches orlegs lib and IE1; of the members II and Ii, in the drawings being shownas pointing to the left oi pivot II, are formed in a peculiar design asshown, and I call them operating or working branches or legs of my tool.

The operating leg Ilb will have its end llc bent double transversely tothe plane of the tool, while the operating leg lib will be formed in thecurved design shown in Fig. 1 and several in the other figures.

A rod 20 is slidable through appropriate apertures in the transverse endlie, and also rotatable in said apertures, said rod having atransversely bent grip indicator II at its upper end. A curved platesegment 22 is hingedly secured at the lower end of the rod 20. asindicated at 23. A spring 24 is inserted between the handle branches Ilaand Ila of my tool, normally tending to spread grip portions I8 and IIapart, and, obviously. at the same time. closing the working legs liband lib on one another.

In Fig. 2 I indicate the beginning oi the operation for welding the endsoi pipes II and II to one another, employing my novel tool for theprotection oi the inside oi the pipes, as has been indicatedhereinbeiore.

It will be seen that the depending plate 22 is dropped downwardly intothe inside oi the pipes through the space ll between them by permittingthe rod ll to drop downwardly, as indicated by the arrow 2., or pushingthe same in that direction. It is to be noted that the center line oithe rod II is on the leit hand side of the plane of the working legIll), and said leg lib is made thin enough to permit an upward ordownward sliding oi the rod 20 at its side.

It is also to be noted that the plate segment I! will have the sameradius oi curvature as the inside radiusoi the pipes II and I2. and willhave a width sumcient to cover the slot or opening I3, and also the endsoi the two pipes to a desired margin, when said segment will be pressedagainst the slot II and the adjoining portions oi the pipes.

The segment 2! will be dropped to a desired depth in the pipes (Fig. 4)and then pressure will be exerted on the grips II and II oi my tool, asindicated by the arrows 21 and 2|, thereby opening the working legs llband lib, and the leg III) also will be inserted by obvious manipulationsthrough the space ll into the interior oi the pipes, as also indicatedin Fig. 4, while the leg llb will be caused to rest on the outside oithe pipes, its transverse end Ilc bridging the space I! and resting onboth pipes.

The rod II will now be turned one-quarter revolution so as to. have theplate segment 22 transversely to the slot ll between the pipes,whereupon rod 20 will be pulled upwardly, arrow 2! (Fig. 5), until thehinge II will touch the inside oi the pipes, bridging the space llbetween them (Fig. 3), and then the pressure 21 and 2! will be releasedon the grips II and II, spring 24 will open the handle branches Ila andIla. and close the working legs Ilb and Ill), the leg lib movingupwardly, arrow ll (Fig. 5), and pressing the segments 2! against theinside oi the pipes as has been described hereinbei'ore (Figs. 1 and 3),while the outer leg lib will be pressed on the outside oi the pipes, itstransverse lower termination lie bridging the space ll between thepipes, as has been mentioned hereinbeiore.

My tool is now in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 3, and is securedand locked in that position. The welding operation may now start, asindicated at ii in Fig. 1. The space ll between the two pipes will befilled with the molten welding material at a sector thereof above theplate segment 22, and it will be obvious that the said segment willprevent any intrusion of the welding material within the pipe, and willkeep the inside oi the welded portion entirely smooth and oi identicaldiameter as the rest oi the pipe.

Aiter the welding of the mentioned section has been finished, a slightpressure (arrows 21, 28) will be exerted on the grips ll and I. toslightly open the device, whereupon the device may be moved in a righthand direction (arrow 32) until the outer end 33 oi the rotector platesegment 22 will be at about the end of the previously finished welding,the working leg lib moving in the slot II and the plate 22 beingslightly pressed by said leg sliding along the inside of the pipes. Whenthe plate 22 arrives to the new welding po- 78 sition, the slightpressure on the grips ll, II will be released, and the device will belocked in the same position as shown in Fig. 1, but to the rightthereof, to a distance about equal to the plate 22.

A new similar welding operation may now be.

made and the tool then again moved to the right, and these operationsrepeated until practically the whole circumference of the slot isbetween the two pipes will be filled with the welding material, that is,the ends of the pipes welded to one another to practically the wholearea thereof.

This position is indicated in Fig. '7, and in said figure, the firstwelding section is generally indicated by the numeral 34, and itsstarting and by the numeral 34a, while the last section so welded isindicated at 35, and the terminating end thereof at "a. I

It will be seen that a small portion 38 of the original slot or space llbetween the two pipes will not be filled, said unfilled portion oraperture 38 being needed and used for removing the protecting platesegment 22 and the inner working leg SD of the tool from within thepipes.

For this purpose the working legs of the tool will be opened upslightly, rod 2|] will be turned back one-quarter revolution until theplate segment 22, again, is edgewise registering'wlth the slot 36,whereupon by a slight maneuvering. the inner leg |6b may be removedthrough the slot 38 and then the segment 22 pulled out by upwardly andoutwardly moving the rod 20 (arrow 31).

After the tool has been removed from within the pipes, the remainingshort unfilled space 36 may now be welded, and then, if some suchwelding material may now enter within the space of the pipes, the extentof it will be so small that it will not affect the movement of the fluidin the pipes, as would be the case if the whole circumierence of theadjacent pipe ends would be welded without the protection of my device.

In Fig. 6, the dotted line showing of my tool indicates an originalposition thereof, in which the portion 38 of the welding has been done,and the full line showing of the tool indicates the position thereofduring the next adjacent welding operation, as will be understood.

It is to be understood that protecting plate segment 22 will have to bemade of such material which is not affected by the molten weldingmaterial, that is, at least the outer surface of the plate segment 22must be of such a nature as not to permit a uniting or adhesion of thewelding material therewith or thereto.

It will be obvious that the same method, principle and arrangement ofmeans as has been described hereinbefore, with reference to protectingthe inside of two pipes while they are being welded to one another, maybe applied in many similar cases where operations are to be performed ona hollow body which has an opening, and when it is desired to protectthe inside of the body at and adjacent to said opening.

The transversely bent arm 2| at the upper end of the rod 20 may servefirst as a grip for the same, but it also will indicate in whichposition the protecting plate segment 22 is within the pipes. If the arm2| is in the plane of the slot is between the pipes (Fig. 1) then theplate 22 is turned transversely to said space and to the inside of thepipes, as necessary during the welding operation, and when the arm 2| isturned perpendicularly to the position shown in Fig. 1 (Fig. 2) that is,in parallelism with the pipes and transversely to the slot l3, then theplate segment 22 is registering edgewise with the slot II. and is in thepositionto insert the same into the pipes or remove it therefrom.

What I claim as new and want to protect by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

l. A process for welding the ends of pipes to one anothercircumferentially. consisting in placing said pipe ends into registeringrelation, with a space being left between them, inserting a back upplate through said space within the pipes, said plate havingsubstantially the same curvature as the inside of the pipes. operatingon the plate from the outside, whereby it will be placed against aportion of said space, closing it from the inside, fllling that portionof the space with welding material. and then successively operating onsaid plate from the outside, whereby the same will be moved tosuccessive adjacent portions of the space between the pipes, fillingeach of such space with welding material. leaving a last portion of thatspace open, and removing said back up plate. and any means operatingthereon within the pipes,

- through said remaining opening.

2. A removable tool to temporarily prevent the entry or projection offoreign material into a hollow body through an opening in the wallthereof. comprising two curved pivoted elements placed side by side. andhaving respective handle portions at one side of the pivot, andoperating leg. portions at the other side, both, the handle and leg, ofone element curving away from the pivot in one direction, and the handleand leg of the otherelement curving away from the pivot in the oppositedirection, a transverse flange on one leg adapted to rest on the outsideof the hollow body bridging the opening in its wall, an inwardly andoutwardly slidable rod in said transverse flange,

' a pivoted protecting plate at the inner end of the rod. adapted to beinserted into the hollow body through the opening in its wall, or to bewithdrawn therefrom, a predetermined terminal part of the otheroperating leg portion of the tool also being adapted to be inserted intothe hollow body through said opening. and releasable means adapted tonormally press the handle portions of said tool outwardly and close theoperating leg portions thereof inwardly toward each other,

whereby said transverse flange will be pressed on the outside of thehollow body to rest thereon,

and said protecting plate will be pressed by said leg portion inside ofsaid hollow body against the inside of the wall of said body on aportion of said opening. thereby closing said portion of the openingfrom the inside.

3. A tool for protecting and keeping smooth the inside of a weldedportion of the ends of two pipes placed adjacent to, but spaced apartfrom, one another, comprising two curved pivoted elements placed side byside. and having respective handle portions at one side of the pivot.and operating leg portions at the other side, both, the handle and leg,of one element curving away from the pivot in one direction, and thehandle and leg of the other element curving away from the pivot in theopposite direction, a transverse flange on one leg adapted to rest onthe outside of the hollow body bridging the opening in its wall. aninwardly and outwardlyslidable rod in said transverse flange, a pivotedprotecting plate at the inner end of the rod. adapted to be insertedinto the hollow body through the opening in its wall. or to be withdrawntherefrom, a predetermined terminal part of the other operating legportion of the tool also being adapted to be inserted into the hollowbody through said opening, said plate being of substantially the samecurvature as the 7 inside of the pipes. the terminal portion oi thesecond operating leg oi the tool being curved towards the terminalportion oi the first leg and in a diiierent plane from said rod. therebypermitting said rod to slide inwardly and outwardly in said first leg atthe side oi said second leg, resillent yielding means normally tendingto open the handle portions of the tool and close the operating legportions thereof towards each other. said second leg termination, insideof the pipes. then being adapted to press said plate against the insideoi said pipe and, cause the same to cover a portion of the space betweenthe two pipe ends.

4. A process for filling an opening in the wall oi a substantiallyclosed hollow body by welding, consisting in inserting a plate like backup memher into said body through said opening by turning said memberedgewise ior the purpose, operating on said back up member irom outsidewhereby the same will be turned fiat towards the wall of the body andplaced against a portion of said opening, thereby closing said portioninwardly, said plate overlapping said opening, filling said portion ofthe opening with welding material, said plate preventing an intrusion ofthe welding material into the inside oi the hollow body, causing saidback up member. by means operable from the outside of the hollow body,to successively move against respective adjacent portions oi theopening, successively closing them from the inside, filling saidsuccessive portions with welding material, leaving a portion oi saidopening intact. and removing the back up member from the inside thehollow body, through said remaining intact portion oi the opening byagain turning said member edgewise.

5. Atool iorprotecting and keepin smooththe inside of a welded portionoi the ends oi two pipes placed adjacent to, but spaced apart irom. oneanother, comprising a back up plate. means toturnthesameedgewiseandtoinsertitintothe inside oi the pipes through saidspace between them. said plate then being adapted to be turned fiat tothe walls oi the pipes and to overlap the space between them, means topress said plate against said walls over the mentioned portion oi saidspace from the inside, said last mentioned means being operable irom theoutside. said plate then preventing the welding material, fromprotruding into the inside oi the pipes. means, operable irom theoutside. adapted to release said back up plate and allow the moving oithe same against an adjacent portion oi the space between the pipes,whereupon said adjacent portion may be filled with welding material.portions of said plate being adapted to again be turned .edgewise tosaid space and to be soremoved iron the inside oi the pipes through aportion oi the space between them, ieit open.

' WY DP'DCH.

aarnnnnoas crrnn The iollowing reierences are oi record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED s'rs'ras rs'mu'rs Number Name Date 2,080,562 Eskilson May 18,1937 2,277,081 Deliilo Mar. 24, 1942 2,328,271 Greene et al Aug. 81,1943

